(From left) Cobra XRS 9830, XRS 9840, XRS 9940 and BEL Vector 940 reviewed. Can a budget radar detector offer true protection? |
You may not have heard yet, but there's been some significant news from Cobra Electronics and
Whistler Group: Each claims they've introduced their best-performing radar detectors ever.
A bold statement, to be sure. Which begs the question: Just how good are these new detectors? Good enough to duke it out
with models from Beltronics (BEL), Escort and Valentine, some of the hottest radar detectors I've tested?
That would seem unlikely. After recently testing
the far pricier BEL RX65, BEL
Vector 995 and BEL STi
Driver, not to mention the radical new GPS-enabled
Escort Passport 9500i, each proved--once again--that when you shell out major bucks at the BEL and Escort
stores, you get a radar detector packing advanced technology and class-leading detection range to boot.
But the other guys say they're fast closing the gap in radar detector performance. They could be right. I got a hint of this when I tested the Cobra XRS 9330,
comparing it to the Whistler Pro 78.
I used the Valentine One, always a hot performer, as a benchmark unit.
At that test the Cobra XRS 9930 weighed in with the best Ka-band sensitivity I've ever seen from a Cobra, within one
percent of the V1 and the others. And the Whistler Pro 78 did even better, showing exceptional sensitivity for a $169 radar
detector. It delivered perhaps 80 percent of the overall performance of the high-end Escort Passport 8500 X50, BEL RX 65 and Escort Passport 9500i and Valentine One. (If this almost defies
belief, keep in mind that they achieved this only under ideal conditions--detector and radar staring at one another on level ground. Throw in some hills, curves and trees to attenuate the signal and the gap widens appreciably.)
At the time, the sight of two under-$180 radar detectors nipping at the heels of the $399 Valentine One was amusing,
but I attributed it to bad karma or perhaps some cosmic misalignment on that particular day. Now I'm not so sure.
Recently Whistler rolled out the XTR 695, (reviewed in another test) that's claimed to have performance equal to or better than
the Pro 78. More important, it has some unique features tailored specifically for serious drivers. (My definition of a serious
driver: Someone who always drives with the very best radar detector--plus other countermeasures--and carries enough cash
to handle any size of bail bond. He also has his attorney's home and cell numbers on speed-dial.)
Intrigued by those test results, it clearly was time to test the newcomers from Cobra Electronics and Whistler. (The BEL
Vector 940 is not a new model but it's a past test winner and was included as a benchmark.) Fairness dictated that the units be
separated by price. [See the test results for the Cobra
XRS 9950, Whistler XTR 695 and BEL Vector 955.]
If you're looking for a detailed laundry list of features and benefits, you'll need to look elsewhere. Here we're looking mainly
at performance, the detector's ability to keep your license free from speeding tickets. Here's what I found, with the results
listed alphabetically.
BEL Vector 940
(about $149 street price)
This entry-level model in the Vector lineup (up-market models are the BEL Vector 955 and Vector 995) promises to
deliver many of the traditional BEL virtues: good sensitivity, quiet operation and anvil-like reliability.
It has a basic feature set: auto mute, voice alerts, text display and fast power-up chief among them. The text display is
excellent, bright enough to be seen under most lighting conditions. The voice alerts and band ID tones are equally adept at
describing the nature of the threat.
On the road the Vector 940 is easy to live with, showing consistent, class-competitive performance and very good resistance to
urban false alarms.
It shares its handsome case with other Vector models and benefits from the same robust construction, heavy-duty power cord
and a general air of quality. That impression is bolstered when holding the unit. At just over eight ounces it has noticeably
more heft than comparable Cobra and Whistler models. To the customer this gives the impression of higher quality, the same
reason BEL, Valentine and others use metal cases for their premium units.
One unfortunate cosmetic feature, from my perspective, is the brushed-aluminum inlay of the upper housing. This may look
great on the store display rack, but it projects a noticeable mirror image up into the windshield, something you don't want to
be staring at, particularly on a long trip. The solution is to mount it out of your line of sight.
This is purely a marketing decision, but detracts somewhat from its user-friendliness. And the BEL is not alone in this. Every one of the Cobra
radar detectors tested was far worse offender.
That said, the BEL Vector 940 is a top pick if you're shopping for a cost-effective, good-performing radar detector.
Cobra XRS 9830
($130 typical retail)
This model has a one-inch color graphic display and is otherwise similar to the discontinued Cobra XRS 9930 except for its feature set and a
display whose hue Cobra calls "Cool Blue".
The XRS 9830 has a fairly extensive feature set, enough to provide a good level of adjustability to suit user preferences. One
item the user won't be able to alter is the faux-aluminum and chromed plastic of the upper housing. Better learn to
love it because on sunny days, you'll be staring at a mirror image of it in the windshield wherever you drive.
Cobra in 2009 reached 15 as the number of "bands" its radar detectors are claimed to detect. But eight of the 15 are meaningless.
For instance, all Cobra detectors are claimed to detect the Safety Alert safety warning system that, in theory, could
warn of approaching emergency vehicles or road hazards ahead, and trains nearing rail crossings. Not mentioned is the fact
that there haven't been any of those Cobra-made Safety Alert transmitters in operation since Bill Clinton left the White House.
But in the interest of accuracy, I fired up a 1995-vintage Safety Alert transmitter (sold by Code 3, a division of Public Safety Equipment Corp.) and tested the Cobras. I did this by having my
fully-equipped police vehicle come charging up from behind the target car, by far the most common--and dangerous--real-world
scenario and one specifically touted as the Safety Alert system's prime selling point.
A Cobra Safety Alert transmitter mounted on a public safety vehicle broadcast a special K-band warning that Cobra radar detectors could interpret. Other detectors thought it was K-band police radar, but it still delivered a heads-up to drivers far ahead. Great concept, poor execution. (If you need one, we've got several left over.) |
The test car was doing 50 mph; my police vehicle was running at 95, a very common police speed even on urban freeways
when they're "running Code". This is police parlance for operating at Code 3, running as fast as is practical and with
emergency lights and siren engaged.
The best detection range I could get with any of the Cobras was 89 feet which, with that speed differential, gave the driver
0.57 second in which to react. My suggestion: don't fret if you don't get many Safety Alert warnings if you're packing a Cobra. If
it does go off, it'll almost certainly be another radar detector's local oscillator or a similar source, not an emergency vehicle.
(Don't confuse Safety Alert with the Safety Warning System, a competing but similar system that also proved a
failure.)
Strobe Alert
Out of curiosity I also tested all these new Cobras to verify another claimed "band", Strobe Alert. Widely used by city
fire trucks and ambulances, the 3M-designed Opticom is an optical system that uses conventional strobe tubes in light bars,
flashed at specific pulse rates to communicate with receivers mounted at intersections. At about 350 feet the receiver spots the
signal and changes the traffic light to favor the oncoming emergency vehicle.
Using a $390,000 Opticom-equipped fire engine (don't even ask where it came from), I tested the detection range of the Cobra
XRS 9840 and seven other new Cobra radar detectors. What I found was disappointing. With the fire truck coming from
behind, their average detection range was less than 140 feet. If the car's doing, say, 30 mph and the fire truck 50 mph, in
theory this would translate into 1.9 seconds of warning, just enough time for most drivers to complete a text message or finish
their last Happy Meal French fry. With the fire truck coming from a 90-degree angle, a very common scenario at intersections
in town, range is even less.
The Cobra XRS 9830's bright graphic display is a mixed blessing. It looks very cool, but at night its glare can be a major
nuisance. Display brightness can be adjusted in three steps but even the dimmest may be too bright on the highway. Shut it off
and a small yellow icon showing operating mode is displayed in the upper right-hand corner. For most this is probably an
acceptable compromise. Alerts generate a big blue icon denoting band ID, plus audible alerts, either voice or tones.
Like its sibling, the Cobra XRS 9840, and most other new XRS models, the Cobra XRS 9830 has the best Ka-band
performance of any Cobra I've tested since 1990. It's weak on X band and nearly deaf on X band in city mode but for most,
neither is a big deal since only two state police agencies continue to use that frequency. (But if you drive in Ohio or New
Jersey where X-band radar is still employed heavily by state police, using the XRS 9840 or its relatives could be risky.) It was
also a bit nearsighted on K band except under ideal conditions, a matter of somewhat more concern.
This radar detector and the other Cobras in this test exhibited a trait common in this price segment: plenty of false alarms. In
town, most of these X- and K-band signals are coming from automatic door openers. On the highway most alerts are in
reaction to older radar detectors and many are Ka band.
City-X mode retains visual alerts but raises the threshold of audible alarms on that frequency. Choosing City X+K does the
same for K band as well. It helps to keep the racket down in town but that bright display still comes alive on each occasion.
It's something you'll have to live with and not everyone will find it particularly welcome at night. On the highway it's very
susceptible to issuing brief falses in reaction to radar detectors in oncoming cars. Of the units in this test, the BEL Vector 940 is
much better at ignoring these nuisance sources.
There isn't a simple, inexpensive fix for this phenomenon and it's not restricted to Cobra radar detectors. Escort was the first to
get a handle on it by adding GPS to their radical new Escort Passport 9500i, which dramatically proved itself the world's quietest high-performance
radar detector in my recent comparison test against the Valentine One. But that pair costs nearly four times as much as this
model. And while GPS is also used in the Cobra XRS R9G, despite innovative features it's not a particularly well-rounded radar
detector.
Still, the XRS 9830 is a major advance for Cobra, particularly on Ka-band performance. Decide for yourself if you can live with
its dazzling, highly reflective brightwork and so-so sensitivity on X and K bands. Otherwise it's not a bad piece.
Cobra XRS 9840
($130 typical retail)
The XRS 9840 shares its case with the XRS 9940, the major difference being its blue display versus the 9940's full-color graphic
display. This Cobra makes do with less chrome on its upper housing than does the XRS 9830. But it's more than enough to
have you reaching for sunglasses within a mile of leaving home on a sunny day.
This Cobra's display differs from the others. Instead of retaining an icon showing mode selection, after 30 seconds the screen
goes dark, save for a tiny blue icon in the center. You get the same icon regardless of what mode it's in, not very helpful. To
uncover the truth you'll need to press the mode button, a needless distraction from the task of driving.
The XRS 9940 and XRS 9840 turned in almost identical scores except on K band, where the 9940, strangely, had about twice
the range as the 9840 and nearly 500% greater range in X-band city mode. And at the Curve Test site it gave a paltry 150-foot
advance warning of the K-band radar trap, alerting nearly at the same moment the radar locked-in our speed. Considering
that the two Cobras are identical except for frills, the notable performance disparity suggests that the quality control guys may
have taken the day off when this one was built.
Cobra XRS 9940
($135)
If you can live without the Full Color ExtremeBright DataGrafix Display (Cobra's words, not mine) and its eye-catching
multi-color icons, this is the same radar detector as the XRS 9840. Same features including digital compass, voice alerts,
alternate city modes, IntelliMute, car voltage display and low car-battery warning. Found on most of the Cobras tested, the
latter gimmick proved to be wildly inaccurate on more than one Cobra, often complaining that battery voltage was way too
low for its preferences. Yet a voltage check verified it was receiving 13.8 volts. This is one feature I can live without.
The XRS 9940 showed average X-band detection range but was excellent at spotting K and Ka band radar. Like the other
Cobras it was a bit chatty in town, much more so than the BEL Vector 940, for instance. Using City X+K helps on this score but
it's powerless to keep the XRS 9940 quiet - like the other Cobras - in highway mode. That's when it's most likely to false on Ka
band, when encountering the poorly-shielded local oscillators of other radar detectors. (Many of them older Cobras,
ironically.)
Five years ago you'd have needed to shell out three C-notes for the radar sensitivity demonstrated by all four of these
contenders. True, they don't have many of the features to be found on today's premium players. But in this very competitive
market segment, nearly all of these radar detectors are the best in years at fulfilling their primary mission in life: spotting
radar before it spots you. The full test results below will bear that out.
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